Did You Know That Japan Has A Completely Ridiculous Penis Festival Once A Year?
It features some really big penises.
So this is what Kanamara Matsuri — The Festival of the Steel Phallus — looks like.
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It generally falls on the first Sunday in April, in Kawasaki, Japan.
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It's centered around a local penis-venerating shrine once popular among prostitutes who prayed for protection from sexually transmitted diseases.
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It features penis lollies.
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And penis waxworks.
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The shrine was also said to offer business prosperity, easy delivery, marriage, and married-couple harmony.
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But why's it called "The Festival of The Steel Phallus"?
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Bit of a shocker. So the young woman sought help from a blacksmith, who fashioned an iron phallus to break the demon's teeth, and that's why it became a shrine.
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But today, the festival is used to raise money for HIV research.
This post has been corrected to reflect the fact that some of the information came from Wikipedia.